Transformers Exodus by Alex Irvine Chapters 11-20

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CHAPTER ELEVEN

Crystal City had stood for teracycles, a monument to the union of Cybertronian ingenuity and aesthetics. It shimmered and glowed as the various materials of its composition caught different spectra of light, creating a prismatic show that was visible for dozens of hics in any direction. During certain atmospheric conditions, even the citizens of Iacon could see it shimmering like a mirage just over the horizon. It was a monument both to achievement and to the aristocracy of Cybertron that demanded beauty along with function. Scientific research went hand-in-hand with artistic innovation here. Soundwave hated the place. To him it reeked of self-indulgence, “Rumble, Frenzy, eject,” Soundwave said. The two Minicons he had brought with him spun down to the floor and awaited instructions. “Operation Matrix Quest, parameters as in previous briefing,” he said. “Do not let anyone see you. If anyone does see you, ensure that they tell no one.” A series of chirps was the Minicons’ answer. They could talk, but on a mission — especially a mission in which timing was critical, as it was here — they tended to communicate via coded bursts. They skittered away into the shadows and Soundwave returned to the surface, standing sentinel against the possibility that they would all be discovered. He preferred to avoid a standup fight; the chance of losing was too great. But for this, the risks might be worth it. He kept in touch with the two Minicons via a direct videolink that played as if on the interior of his own optics. For a moment he considered opening up and ejecting Ravage and Laserbeak. Too dangerous, he decided. The more of his Minicons he sent in, the more likely it was that he would lose one. And on this mission, he might well lose one, because he was after the deepest secrets of Crystal City. Not even Starscream, who had spent much of his scientific career in the labs contained within these endlessly refracting walls, knew every secret of the City. No one did. Except, perhaps, Omega Supreme. And it was Omega Supreme who worried Soundwave. He hadn’t come all this way to get rendered into his component molecules by one of the Guardian’s missiles. Not even for the liberation of Cybertron … however that was going to be accomplished. Soundwave thought he had Megatron convinced of his loyalty, but the truth was he was waiting to see how things progressed. His skills would be useful to the High Council and the Cybertronian defense forces as well — and they would be useful to whatever other groups emerged to compete for the future of Cybertron. Orion Pax, for example. Soundwave felt strongly that Megatron was underestimating the librarian. Time would tell, however, and right at that moment time was something Soundwave didn’t have. He moved back outside the security-sensitive perimeter surrounding Crystal City and waited for his Minicons to send their first set of rendezvous signals. Frenzy reported in exactly one cycle later. Nothing out of the ordinary. On the half-cycle, Rumble followed up. Everything in his sensory perimeter was normal as well. Soundwave started to wonder what he was looking for. No — he knew what he was looking for. He started to wonder whether it could actually be in Crystal City, if two Minicons could sneak around without even registering an automated probe of their credentials. Either things were not as they once had been in Crystal City, or the object of his search was long gone.